In many digital communication systems, digital values to be communicated from a transmitting device to a receiving device are represented by corresponding unique voltage levels transmitted at predefined transmission intervals. For example, a binary digital communication system may communicate digital bits from the transmitting device to the receiving device using one voltage level to represent a logic 1 and another voltage level to represent a logic 0. The bandwidth of the digital communication is typically specified in terms of the inverse of the transmission interval for each digital bit, known as the baud rate of the communication system. For a binary digital communication system, the baud rate of the system is equal to the system's bit rate, which is typically specified as the number of digital bits that can be communicated from the transmitting device to the receiving device in one second.
In serial digital communication systems, equalization of received signal samples is often required to account for drifting of the received signal samples due to charging and/or discharging of the serial communication link coupling the transmitting device and the receiving device. For example, communication of a series of logic 1 voltage levels may charge the communication link such that voltage levels associated with a logic 1 and a logic 0 both drift toward the logic 1 voltage level. Conversely, communication of a series of logic 0 voltage levels may charge the communication link such that voltage levels associated with a logic 1 and a logic 0 both drift toward the logic 0 voltage level. Such drifting of received voltage levels imparted on the communication link can increase the likelihood that the receiving device will make erroneous decisions concerning whether the value of a particular received signal sample represents, for example, a logic 1 or a logic 0.